It's that time of year again folks. Yes, the season has officially kicked off for shows, cruise nights, and gatherings. To me it starts with the Lions Club Revving it up for Education Show here in Camarillo. We checked it out and have two VCSWheels videos to prove it! The first being the review of the 2010 Camaro (see previous blog entry), the other an overview of the show itself (see below).

Another cool event which started April 24th is the Classic Car Cruise Night in old town Camarillo. This cruise is open to all cars with a prior to 1980 build date. It happens in old town the fourth Friday of every month. One event I'm looking forward to is Ventura Harley Davidson's Endless Summer Bike Show August 23rd. I will be a guest judge for this event, so come out and join us for a day of cruisers, food and live music.

For more upcoming events, see the latest list at: VCSWheels Car Club News

Happy Motoring, Lance

Many know my past history with Mustangs. I was at one point the sales manager at Maximum Motorsports, a Mustang-exclusive suspension manufacturing company. That was many years ago and much has changed in the car scene since. While Challenger has been MIA for years and Camaro was killed off in 2002, the Mustang has lived on since 1964.

I will always have a love for the Mustang, but the original muscle car to win my heart was the 1969 Camaro. My friends Tyson and Brian both owned one in high school. Brian built his from the ground up with retro style, whereas Tyson and I teamed up on making his a modern masterpiece. As a gearhead, when you spend so much time with one car you etch a special place in your heart for it. Having said that, I'm beyond happy to see the Camaro once again on the street.

Why Camaro over the Mustang or Challenger? I actually have several reasons why I say Camaro takes the title of King in this venue:

1. Bang-for-buck
Equipped with the hottest rear-wheel drive global architecture (the Zeta platform) and a sick drivetrain (LS3 V8 Corvette motor and Tremec 6-speed), Camaro comes in first.

2. Price
The meager powered Mustang GT comes in at a $28,845 base price tag and boasts all of 315hp (20 more horses than my 350Z, and 450 pounds heavier!). The Challenger R/T comes in at $30,945 price tag with a 376hp V8. The Camaro SS cruises in at 30,995 punching out 426hp.

3. MPG
Yes, miles-per-gallon! While the Mustang GT averages 15cty/23hwy, the Challenger averages all of 16cty/25hwy and lastly, the top powered Camaro does 16cty/24hwy. That might not sound like much, but ain't bad for over 420horses.

I could go on about why I think it's the better car. They aren't a dime-a-dozen like the Mustang, they don't drive like a luxury car as a Challenger does. Long story short is that this car hits on all cylinders from horsepower, to platform and driveability.

Motor on, Lance

Most friends of mine rather work or personal, know the best conversation starter is the latest automotive news. Rather this be the unveiling of a new auto, or a factory closing in America. Anything auto related is a good topic to strike conversation with me. The past few weeks friends have brought up Pontiac, knowing this manufacture recently caught my liking since buying a late-model GTO in 2006.

My 2005 Pontiac GTO. Equipped with the Vette based LS2 motor boasting 400hp.

I'm sure most heard in the news of recent changes to be made with "the General". GM brought their latest plan to the table which they feel will carry them through these hard times. While some see potential for this company to carry on, some question if bankruptcy is a possibility as well.

Those of us closely tied to the industry new Hummer has been for sale for sometime and if not sold, would go away. Saab was inevitably going on the sale block as in my opinion GM never should have bought it in the first place. I will say the slashing of Saturn was a mild surprise, but made sense. Out of the five models in Saturn's line up, two are re-badged GM's while the other three are re-badged Opals and/or Vauxhalls from Europe. The one real shocker among the recent news was the ax being taken to the Pontiac line.

To many Pontiac is just another of the many lines put out by the biggest kid on the block. It fell somewhere around Oldsmobile and Buick to most. Little know about the history of this moniker and how it has always maintained the performance side of the GM roster.

While the name first came about with the Pontiac Spring & Wagon Works, it was not used by GM until 1926. It was created as a companion line to the Oakland Motor Car. Over the years Pontiac fought to separate itself from the pack bringing us such cars as the "Tri-power" '57 Bonneville, the Tempest and the famed Pontiac GTO. While many may argue, I see Pontiac as one of the top cars to make the muscle car segment in this country what it is today.

A beautiful sample of a 1st generation Pontiac Bonneville.

Bob Lutz is a big reason why Pontiac has come full circle in recent years. He knew the value and reputation of the Pontiac name. While most know his push behind the Chevrolet Volt and Camaro, the masses don't know how much his heart was with Pontiac. He knew this line could go to bat with the likes of BMW, Audi and more. In my opinion it was a success and I thank him for fighting to keep the line alive.

I fell in love with American cars all over with my '05 Goat. What better deal to get a modern mid-size car with creature comforts and a 400hp LS2 Corvette motor. I stepped into this car after my 540i BMW left me on the road stranded 2 times in as many months!

My heart even more so fell for the recently released Pontiac G8 GT. Pontiac turned to Holden (GM's counterpart in Australia) for help on the new full size car for the arrowhead moniker. The G8 used the beautiful Zeta platform architecture found under the Holden Commodore and recently released Chevrolet Camaro. They packed it with a 6.0 motor and either a GM 6-speed auto or 6-speed manual from Tremec (see blog entry The Great G8) . Here is a car that gives a BMW 550i a run for its money, yet has gone largely unnoticed by the masses.

Pontiac will go down in history with Oldsmobile, Plymouth, Eagle, Geo and DeLorean as a car maker no more, but I know after the end of 2010 this name will long live on in all gearhead's memory.

-Lance

Little known fact; the Pontiac name was taken from an American Chief.
Chief Pontiac was an Ottawa leader most famous for his role in Pontiac's Rebellion (1763-1766). This was an American Indian struggle against the British military occupation of the Great Lakes region.